Limerick hurlers win over Westmeath marred by major officiating error

Goals don't just win games.

They change the ebb and flow so if you manage to raise a major at a key time then it can give huge boost to power you on to victory. It can also kill the opponent's momentum or hope of a comeback, and there is no doubt that Westmeath suffered a dip after Limerick scored their third goal of a 4-15 to 1-12 win. The Shannonsiders had been pushed all the way by the Midlanders in a thrilling game that saw Limerick lead by just a two points at the break, 2-6 to 1-7 Westmeath would have rightly felt at half-time that they had a serious chance of causing a massive upset, but it now seems that a major officiating mistake may have cost them that chance. Limerick grabbed their third goal of the game just after half-time but according to RTE reporter Pauric Lodge this evening that goal should not have stood after a pass from Graeme Mulcahy on the endline found Paul Browne who finished to the net https://twitter.com/pauriclodge/status/617780295056662528 It seems that one or two people in the crowd at the time also thought the goal should not have stood https://twitter.com/SportingLimk/status/617786512265080837 https://twitter.com/MartinKiely1/status/617781156562477056 https://youtu.be/UvrtLpWbshk Westmeath were beaten by 12 points in the end but there is no doubt that the Limerick men's third goal was the key game-changer of the entire 70 minutes. Incredibly hard luck on Michael Ryan's side and it's hard to understand how the mistake was made when the umpire had such a clear view.